1. In your opinion, what is the best translation of a book to a movie?
2. The worst?
3. Had you read the book before seeing the movie, and did that make a difference? (Personally, all other things being equal, I usually prefer whichever I was introduced to first.)
And, by all means, expand this to as long a list as you like. I’m notoriously awful myself at narrowing down to one favorite ANYTHING. So, feel free to list as many “good” or “bad” movie-from-books as you like. (Heaven knows that’s what I’ll be doing….)
Answers:
1. I LOVE the “Colin Firth” Pride & Prejudice. Is there anyone who doesn’t? Even Mr. 3M enjoyed it! Though I enjoyed the 2006 version of Jane Eyre, my favorite is the one with Ciaran Hinds and Samantha Morton. I also really liked Wuthering Heights with Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche, although it was very depressing.
Some people will absolutely shoot me for this, but I LOVED the DiCaprio/Danes Romeo & Juliet as well as Ethan Hawke’s Hamlet. I loved the modern setting while keeping (most of) the original wording. I’ve probably seen them at least 10 times each.
Of course, The Lord of the Rings trilogy was absolutely brilliant. There was only one thing I didn’t like at all in that movie: the change in Faramir’s character.
2. I haven’t seen it, but my kids didn’t like the film adaptation of Eragon at all. That’s too bad, because the cast looked so great! I don’t know if this is a “worst” but thought it worth mentioning.
3. I rarely read the book after I see a movie, but I did read Wuthering Heights after seeing the film. I tend not to read the book if I liked the movie, though. Like most people, I usually prefer the book to the movie.
This was a great question this week!
